WASHINGTON — Prince Andrew’s attorneys had discussions with a Washington lobbyist with ties to the Trump administration about the potential of aidi
WASHINGTON — Prince Andrew’s attorneys had discussions with a Washington lobbyist with ties to the Trump administration about the potential of aiding the prince with fallout from his relationship with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Legal professionals from the London-based agency Blackfords consulted the lobbyist, Robert Stryk, who represents worldwide figures with delicate authorized or diplomatic points, in latest weeks about Prince Andrew’s state of affairs, based on an individual aware of the circumstances.
Mr. Stryk has a historical past of taking over shoppers with unsavory reputations. However he expressed discomfort about the potential of aiding Prince Andrew, and talks concerning the potential illustration seem to have fizzled, based on the individual aware of the state of affairs.
It’s not clear exactly what sort of help Blackfords may need been searching for from Mr. Stryk, who shouldn’t be a lawyer, or what he may do to assist Prince Andrew. Neither is it clear whether or not Blackfords has reached out to different Washington lobbyists or consultants about the potential of engaged on the problem.
Neither Mr. Stryk nor another American advisor is listed as having registered with the Justice Division to characterize Prince Andrew, which may very well be required below the International Brokers Registration Act if a consulting association had been reached involving lobbying or public relations.
Blackfords has been representing Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, in a contentious back-and-forth with federal prosecutors in New York who’re investigating allegations of intercourse trafficking and different crimes by Mr. Epstein and his associates.
Prince Andrew, 60, has not been charged within the case.
However in August, Virginia Roberts Giuffre accused the prince of getting intercourse together with her 3 times when she was 17 years previous after she was linked to him by Mr. Epstein.
The prince denied her declare in an interview with the BBC in August and sought to attenuate his lengthy friendship with Mr. Epstein, who killed himself final summer season at a federal jail in Manhattan whereas awaiting trial on intercourse trafficking and conspiracy expenses. He had met Mr. Epstein via Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite and Mr. Epstein’s onetime girlfriend, who was arrested on Thursday and charged with luring a number of underage women into Mr. Epstein’s orbit.
Prince Andrew had indicated a willingness to assist American regulation enforcement officers with their investigations late final 12 months. However since then, prosecutors in New York have publicly criticized him on a number of events for providing “zero cooperation” and for stonewalling.
The prince’s attorneys at Blackfords shot again in an announcement issued early final month. They accused Geoffrey S. Berman, who had served as the US legal professional in Manhattan till being fired late final month, of creating “inaccurate” statements about Prince Andrew, suggesting that the prosecutor and his colleagues had been “maybe searching for publicity slightly than accepting the help proffered.”
Blackfords didn’t reply to requests for remark. Mr. Stryk declined to remark.
Mr. Stryk, who’s nicely linked in Trump administration international coverage circles, owns an organization referred to as Sonoran Coverage Group, which casts itself as “world non-public diplomacy” agency. He has developed a popularity in recent times for taking over shoppers different Washington lobbyists and consultants draw back from.
This 12 months alone, his agency has signed contracts to characterize a jailed Saudi prince who had fallen out of favor together with his nation’s highly effective de facto chief, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in addition to the administration of President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, which the Trump administration considers illegitimate.
Mr. Stryk represents Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of Angola’s former president who’s accused of embezzling tens of millions of {dollars} from a state oil firm she as soon as headed. And he had represented the federal government of the previous Congolese president Joseph Kabila, which had confronted American sanctions for human rights abuses and corruption.